Arachnophonia: Bob Dylan “100 Songs”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Eliana (class of 2024) and features a collection of 100 lyrics by Bob Dylan. Thanks, Eliana!

Bob Dylan

100 Songs

Bob Dylan - 100 Songs (book cover)

Bob Dylan is one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of the 20th century. He has written over 500 songs throughout the span of his career, both for himself and other artists. His most famous works include “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” which became civil rights and antiwar anthems following the frustrations many Americans were facing in the 60’s. He has received a plethora of awards, including ten Grammys, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, and the Nobel Prize in Literature.

His book, 100 Songs, is a self curated collection of 100 of his most profound works. His lyrics adorn the pages, underscoring their poetic nature. If you’re a fan of Dylan’s work, the book is a must read. For me, seeing his lyrics sprawled across 200 pages deepens their significance and allure.

You can check out this book, along with over 100 other Bob Dylan-related materials, from Parsons Music Library. Maybe grab a CD or two to enhance your reading experience!

Arachnophonia: Live Aid

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Eliana (class of 2024) and features the Live Aid concert film. Thanks, Eliana!

Live Aid on DVD

Live Aid concert film still

Deemed by many “the greatest show on earth,” Live Aid was, and is still to this day, the largest benefit concert of all time. On July 13th, 1985, the biggest names in Pop and Rock music joined together at both Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia to raise money for the famine that left ⅕ of Ethiopia’s total population without food.

Huge stars including, but not limited to, Queen, Elton John, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, and Sting were all present across the two locations. In total, they raised more than $127 million towards famine relief – almost $330 million by today’s standards.

The four-disc DVD set of the event is available at Parsons Music library. In its case, you’ll see photographs from the concert, as well as a pamphlet that contains the first draft of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” two pages from the original Live Aid program, and various facts about the significance of the event.

Don’t have a DVD player? Have no fear! At Parsons Music Library, you can check out portable disc drives or visit study spaces with DVD players inside. If you have any questions, someone behind the front desk will always be available to help.

Live Aid dvd set

New CDs added: January 2022

New CDs for January 2022

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Eighth Blackbird – Singing in the Dead of Night
Henry Hadley – Afterglow: The Forgotten Works for Cello and Piano

Eighth Blackbird - Singing in the dead of night

Jazz

Wayne Shorter – Emanon
William Sweatman’s Original Jazz Band – Jazzin’ Straight Thru’ Paradise

Wayne Shorter - Emanon

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

William Grant Still – The American Scene
William Grant Still – Highway One, USA

William Grant Still -  Highway One USA

Popular Music

Angels vs. Aliens – Eleven Shades of Crimson
A New Dawn Fades – I See the Nightbirds
Emile Berliner – Etching the Voice: Emile Berliner and the First Commercial Gramophone Discs, 1889-1895

A New Dawn Fades

Kids Techno – The Harmony of Spheres
Various artists – Before Radio: Comedy, Drama, & Sound Sketches, 1897-1923

Before Radio

New CDs added: Fall 2021

New CDs for Fall 2021

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Frederic Chopin – Complete Noctures – Jan Lisiecki
Michael Colgrass – Letter from Mozart ; Side by side ; The Schubert Birds

Chopin Nocturnes

Nikolai Medtner – The Complete Piano Sonatas; Forgotten Melodies I, II – Marc-Andre Hamelin
Smyth, Beach and Spain-Dunk – Smyth, Beach and Spain-Dunk: Archaeus String Quartet

Michael Colgrass - Side By Side

Jazz

Kurt Elling – Secrets Are the Best Stories
James Brandon Lewis & Red Lily Quintet – Jesup Wagon
Leyla McCalla – The Capitalist Blues

Mwenso and the Shakes - Emergence

Mwenso and the Shakes – Emergence (The Process of Coming into Being)
Jaco Pastorius – Truth, Liberty, & Soul: Live in NYC: The Complete 1982 NPR Jazz Alive! recording

Jaco Pastorius - Truth, Liberty & Soul

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Aurora Surgit – Ego sum Resurrectio: Gregorian Chant for the Dead
Daron Hagen – Orson Rehearsed: An Operafilm
Franz Liszt – Freudvoll und Leidvoll – Jonas Kaufmann & Helmut Deutsch

Orson Rehearsed

Popular Music

McKinley Dixon – For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her
Sarah Jarosz – World on the Ground

McKinley Dixon - For My Mama ...

Leyla McCalla – Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes
Jim Kimo West – More Guitar Stories
Matthew E. White & Lonnie Holley – Broken Mirror A Selfie Reflection

Sarah Jarosz - World on the Ground

World & Folk Music

Gamelan Cudamani – Odalan Bali
Leyla McCalla – A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey
Leyla McCalla – Recorded Live at the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Leyla McCalla - A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey

Leyla McCalla – Recorded Live at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Leyla McCalla – Recorded Live at the 2018 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Various artists – African Tribal Music and Dances: Featuring Music of the Malinke, Baoule and Others

Gamelan Cudamani

Arachnophonia: “Rocky Raccoon”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Allison (class of 2022) and features “Rocky Raccoon”, a 1968 song by the Beatles. Thanks, Allison!

The Beatles – “Rocky Raccoon”

Rocky Raccoon  illustration by Jim McHugh

Rocky Raccoon illustration by Jim McHugh of mcillustrator.com (used with permission of artist)

I was first introduced to “Rocky Raccoon” in middle school during a guitar lesson. My teacher gave me the song to learn because I was gaining more interest in The Beatles and he thought it was a fun one. This further introduced me to some of the more eclectic and trippy songs among their lengthy discography.

The Beatles were an English rock band during the 1960s. Although their music is still very prevalent today, the band was only together for approximately a decade. Throughout this period, they produced numerous albums which were all regarded very highly by their global audience. “Rocky Raccoon” was one of many songs on The Beatles’ “White album” which was released in 1968.

Throughout the years, “Rocky Raccoon” has remained one of my favorite songs by The Beatles and is definitely one of my favorite songs to play on guitar. What I like most about the song is the chord progression. It’s written in a way that you could just keep playing it over and over. It may just be a silly song about a raccoon; however, the chord progression is what makes the song in my opinion.

New CDs added: May 2021

New CDs for May 2021

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Imani Winds – Bruits
Pacifica Quartet – Contemporary Voices
Christopher Rouse – Symphony No. 5 / Supplica / Concerto for Orchestra

Dame Ethel Smyth - The Prison cd cover

Dame Ethyl Smyth – The Prison
Christopher Theofanidis – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra / Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas – From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke

Christopher Theofanidis album cover

Jazz

Chick Corea Trio – Trilogy 2
Arturo O’Farrill – Four Questions

Chick Corea - Trilogy 2 cd cover

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Richard Danielpour – The Passion of Yeshua
Fisk Jubilee Singers – Celebrating Fisk! The 150th Anniversary Album

Celebrating Fisk cd cover

Popular Music

Natalia Lafourcade – Un Canto Por Mexico
Nas – King’s Disease
Taylor Swift – folklore

Nas - King's Disease cd cover

Film Soundtracks

Hildur Gudantottir – Joker

Hildur Guonadottir - Joker soundtrack cd cover

New CDs added: April 2021

New CDs for April 2021

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Imani Winds – Imani Winds
Nikolai Kapustin – Piano Music Marc-Andre Hamelin

Nikolai Kapustin - Piano Music

Felix Mendelsson – Mendelssohn – Piano Works Vol. 5 Benjamin Frith
Robert Schumann – Kinderszenen : op. 15 ; Davidsbündlertänze : op. 6 ; Piano sonata no. 2 in G minor, op. 22 Angela Hewitt

Mendelssohn - Piano Works, Vol. 5

Musical Theatre Cast Recordings

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss – SIX The Musical: Studio Cast Recording
Anaïs Mitchell – Hadestown: Original Broadway Cast Recording

SIX: The Musical

Alanis Morrisette and Glen Ballard – Jagged Little Pill: Original Broadway Cast Recording
Stephen Sondheim – Company – 2018 London Cast Recording

Jagged Little Pill - Cast Recording

Popular Music

Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Fantastic Negrito – Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?
Miranda Lambert – Wildcard

Miranda Lambert - Wildcard

John Legend – Bigger Love
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Fito Paez – La Conquista del Espacio
Bobby Rush – Rawer Than Raw
Billy Strings – Home

Fantastic Negrito - Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?

The Strokes – The New Abnormal
James Taylor – American Standard
Thundercat – It Is What It Is
Toots and the Maytals – Got To Be Tough
Various Artists – Harmony In My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81

Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Metropolitan Opera – The Gershwins’ Porgy And Bess

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

Gospel Music

P.J. Morton – Gospel According to PJ: From the Songbook of PJ Morton
Kanye West – Jesus Is King

Gospel According to PJ

New CDs added: January – March 2021

New CDs for January- March 2021

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Emanuele Arciuli – Walk in Beauty
Beethoven – Beethoven “Fur Elise,” Bagatelles, opp. 33, 119, & 126 / Paul Lewis, piano
Kenji Bunch – Boiling Point: Music of Kenji Bunch

Caroline Shaw/Attacca Quartet - Orange

Caroline Shaw / Attaca Quartet – Orange
Imani Winds – The Classical Underground
Imani Winds – Terra Incognita

Imani Winds - The Classical Underground

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Will Liverman & Paul Sánchez – Dreams of a New Day: Songs By Black Composers
Kurt Sander – The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

Dreams of a New Day

Popular Music

Lizzo – Cuz I Love You
Mile Twelve – Roll The Tapes All Night Long
Various Artists – At The Minstrel Show: Minstrel Routines From The Studio, 1894-1926

Lizzo - Cuz I Love You

Dance Music

Gus Haenschen – The Missing Link: How Gus Haenschen Got Us from Joplin to Jazz and Shaped the Music Business

The Missing Link

Musical Theatre

Original Broadway Cast – Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Stephen Sondheim – Anyone Can Whistle

Moulin Rouge - Original Broadway Cast Recording

New CDs added – November 2020

New CDs for November 2020

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Black Violin – Stereotypes
Black Violin – Take The Stairs
Tania Leon – Indigena

Tania Leon - Indigena

Anders Miolin – Timeless Odyssey
Du Yun – Dinosaur Scar
Various Artists – Legacy: Violin Music of African-American Composers

Black Violin - Stereotypes

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Du Yun – Angel’s Bone

Du Yun - Angel's Bone

Popular Music

Mary Stafford & Edith Wilson – “Ain’t Gonna Settle Down”: The Pioneering Blues of Mary Stafford & Edith Wilson

Mary Stafford & Edith Wilson - Ain't Gonna Settle Down

Various Artists – Masters of the Clarinet
Various artists – Make More Noise!: Women in Independent UK Music 1977-1987

Make More Noise!

Black Composers Matter: Errollyn Wallen

Errollyn Wallen
b. April 10, 1958

Errollyn Wallen was born in Belize and moved to London with her family at the age of two.

She trained as a dancer at the Maureen Lyons School of Dancing and the Urdang Academy before taking dance classes at the Dance Theater of Harlem and went on to study music and composition at the universities of London and Cambridge.

According to Grove Music Online, “Wallen draws inspiration from a great diversity of sources in her music. It is above all characterized by a deeply expressive lyricism … and a delight in vibrant dance rhythms …” Her work is also influenced by avant-garde classical music as well as popular songwriting and includes operas, chamber music, and choral music as well as orchestral music.

In 1998, she was the first Black female composer to have an orchestral work – her Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra – presented at the BBC Proms. In 2020, she was commissioned to create a new version of “Jerusalem” (which is considered sort of a standby British national anthem) for the Last Night of the Proms.

Her works Principia and Spirit in Motion were commissioned for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games and their première was watched by a capacity audience of 80,000 people and broadcast to a billion people around the world.

If you’d like to learn more about her, here are some works by Wallen from the Music Library’s collection:

* The Errollyn Wallen Songbook (Score)

* I Wouldn’t Normally Say: Piano Solo (Score)

* Errollyn Wallen (Reference entry via Oxford Music Online)

And as always, YouTube (see video below of Wallen performing some of her own songs), Spotify, her official website, and other social media!

Black Composers Matter